Stay motivated with a mentor

It’s a new year and if you’re like most of us, that means new goals and objectives.  It also means that, come February, you’re already side-tracked and pulled into the same-old, same-old of your job. Meeting with a mentor could be an effective way to excel at your job and advance your career.

A mentor is a trusted counselor or guide that serves as a beacon of knowledge in your industry.  It’s a person that you identify with and seek to learn from in various ways: they become models for the development of problem solving skills, decisions making techniques and interpersonal abilities.  They often demonstrate technical skills and also provide personal guidance.

The right mentor may assist in developing your career in various ways, including introducing you to networking contacts, helping you to navigate office politics and offering insight which fills in the blanks between theoretical knowledge and practical know-how.

In most cases, mentors are influential senior sponsors, but it’s not necessarily the case – in the IT industry, for instance, a younger mentor meeting with an older mentee is not uncommon.

New or recent graduates especially benefit from a mentor, but it’s just as rewarding for those with years of experience who want to be a cut above.

So, how do you choose this important person?

• Identify your needs and goals and what you’d like your mentor to do for you

Maybe you need an outside expert who can help with a specific business challenges.  Or maybe you want someone inside your workplace to be an advocate for your project or promotion.  It could also be a person who acts as a more general sounding board and big-picture guide.  You may even want your mentor only to listen to you and offer advice when you need to visit with someone neutral.

• Make your wish list

A mentor should have experience in the field or specialty in which you work, or aspire to work. Consider all possibilities: include the obvious names, those you haven’t originally thought of, those you admire and those that will probably stay on your wish-list for most of your life (or until you have a few more years behind your name).

A good starting point could be your circle of friends – and don’t forget family members.  From there, expand your mind to include group leaders, teachers, lectors, managers and even colleagues.

Remember to keep an open mind in matching your needs to a prospective mentor – they may be able to help you grow in ways you could never plan or expect.

• Sell yourself

Do your homework before approaching the person (or people) you have chosen.  The way you approach ‘the chosen one’ will largely depend on your level of comfort and the current relationship you may already have with your potential mentor.

Explain why you’ve chosen them and how your mentor-mentee relationship could also be a (business) benefit to them.  Propose a method for the process: weekly telephone calls, bi-weekly one-on-one meetings or meet-as-needed?  It’s also a good idea to include short, medium and long term objectives of the mentorship.

• It doesn’t have to be a formal affair

Remember that you don’t need to declare someone your mentor, or have them sign some kind of an agreement.  With that said, a mentor should still be a willing participant and conscience of the fact that you have identified them in a certain role.